Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-01-07
Friday, January 7, 1857.
THE GREAT DEAD.

Death has been busy the last two
years in calling the roll Of great men
to the silent majority. Going back a
few years further, and in contempla.
tion of the havoc made among the il
lustrious men Of the Republic who
had survived the battle shock. We are
struck with the fesrfully large list.
The death Of Logan thins the already
thinned line Of those now ia public
life, whose tongues or swords were all
powerful In the period Of the great
war, which was indeed a "time that
tried mems souls" With the dead
are Grant, Greely, Morton, Sumner,
Stanton, Garfield, Ben Wade. Thad
Stevens, Chase. George Thomas, Nc
Clellan. Hancock, Seymour, Hend-
ricks. Brooxs, Mcdowell Anthony
Burnside and Tilden, Lincoln and
Douglas, two very great names belong
~ an earlier period. Douglas died at
the beginning Of the conflict, and his
great rival, Lincoln, breathed his last
at the close Of that struggle. The 9TH
ers We have named were Of those who
not only participated in the struggle.
but who took part In the still sterner
conflict of reconstruction. Death has
been no respecter of persons. From
commanding general to drummer boy.
from President to plough boy, from
Senator to laborer, his scythe has
swept with glirtening curve, every
turn taking OFF from our list of great
men. When we look back upon the
vast host Of distinguished leaders who
marshalled Democrats and Reputli-
cans on opposite sides around Andrew
Johnson in the beginning Of the re-
construction troubles, We see two
thirds of their places vacant. john
sou himself, that turbulent product of
the most intensely homogeneous
American growth, is gone. Gone is his
great enemy, Thad 5 evens. Gone,
indeed, are the mightiest ol the men
who figured in that hattie of the giants,
the last of the 1itans being laid away
last Friday, in vault in the pictures
que Rock Creek burial ground
And on The other side, of The brave,
brilliant, light-hearted, mistaken men
who drew the sword aud with the
sword endeavored TO cut the Union in
twain, we see the same record. Death
has been as busy among the roses Of
the south as among the SHOWS of the
north. The greatest military chief OF
the con federacy, the knigttly Roland
who bore himself in defeat mUre grace.
fully than most men ia victory, Is
gone. Gone the brainy vice. e-president
of the rebellion-gone its thuDderer,
Toomts. gone one by one, till but
few remain of that brilliant host who
just twenty years laid the foundation
of what they fonily hoped would be
the greatest empire Of modern times.
Most OF them lived long to rejoice that
they had failed. Only here and there
veteran survives. It will not be
long before the great struggle Of 1861 .65
will be ss "tale that Is toldn a. a ira.
dition, As page OF history. The pen
sion roll is thinning. Logan's death,
though striking us with peculiar force,
from the prominence of the man and
the many manly qualities he possessed,
takes away the great soldiers advo-
cate, and reminds us that the gallant
bands Of veterans whom he loved so
greatly and served-o well, are travel
ing with great rapidiiy the road which
he has just finished. The men who
have made our history are fast becom.
ing but history themselves. 1t will
not be long before the last one will fail
20 answer the roll-call here below.
Let US take care OF them while they
are here.-Washington Gazette.